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A shop owner shot dead by armed robbers as he locked up his Manchester store has been named as Pragaret Singh, a 35-year-old husband and father to three young children.

Mr Singh, known to family and friends as Charlie, died in hospital after being shot in the chest and abdomen as he left Manchester Food Traders in Openshaw on Friday.

Tributes have been paid on Facebook by friends and family of Pragaret 'Charlie' Singh. Credit: Facebook

Mr Singh's brother Tiggy told the Manchester Evening News his brother was a hard-working family man with a wife, Sukhwinder, and children aged two, five and seven.

He told the paper: "He was robbed of his life. He was happy, jolly and full of life - he never said anything bad about anyone. He was the kind of person who'd go out of his way to help anyone in need."

Greater Manchester Police said Mr Singh grappled with at least one of the offenders before he was shot and the two robbers fled with a large amount of money.

Police have launched a murder investigation into the death and are appealing to anyone with information to come forward.

One of the men involved was described as black, in his 20s or 30s, with spikey knotted hair, clean shaven, of a tall slim build and wearing a jacket with the sleeves rolled up.

Police are also appealing to anyone with information about the movements of a small silver car, possibly a Vauxhall, which may have been used by the offenders and drove off towards Ashton Old Road after the shooting.

Anyone with information should call the force on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

His death will undoubtedly cause a mixture of shock and anxiety in the local community so I would like to reassure people who live and work in this area that we will leave absolutely no stone unturned to find out who was responsible for Charlie’s tragic murder.

Police have confirmed a businessman shot dead in Manchester was the victim of a robbery.

Armed robbers targeted father-of-three Pragaret Singh outside his company, Manchester Food Traders, as he was locking up for the night.

"Although this investigation remains in its infancy, at this stage we believe Charlie's death was the result of simply trying to protect his business from armed robbers, during which he was shot at least twice.

"We believe Charlie has grappled with at least one of the offenders to protect his business and during that struggle he suffered fatal gunshot wounds.

"His family are absolutely and utterly distraught and our thoughts are with them. At this stage of our inquiry we believe this is the tragic death of an innocent businessman and father-of-three who was simply trying to protect his livelihood from criminals. As a result, Charlie's entire family have suffered an unimaginable loss."

– Detective Superintendent Jon Chadwick, Greater Manchester Police

Mr Singh - known to family and friends as Charlie - was shot twice, in the stomach and the chest as he locked up his business, a wholesale food firm based on an industrial estate on Wood Street in Openshaw.

Police were called at 6.20pm yesterday following reports of a man with a gun and discovered the victim.

He was taken to hospital but died from his injuries.

Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, Mr Singh's family said the killers were: "callous, cold-hearted murderers with no regard for human life".

The Police Federation has warned that a lack of training could hamper the pilot scheme to scrap police cautions.

If the pilot proves to increase confidence and effectiveness of the criminal justice system, it will be beneficial for everyone.

It should be noted however that lack of sufficient training in this area may pose a threat to its potential success. The most effective way to prevent crime is to have a well-funded and highly trained police service that is visible and readily available in communities.

It must be acknowledged that due to austerity measures, policing is under significant strain and is struggling to provide effective support to victims and witnesses, as was highlighted by last week’s National Detectives Survey.

This fundamentally undermines confidence in the criminal justice system and must be addressed in order to allow for the potential positive change this pilot could provide.

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The Justice Secretary Chris Grayling has said the revamp of court disposals, which at the bottom-end would see offenders writing an apology to victims or repairing damages but could see more serious offences being fined, removes the "soft option".

Three police force areas will trial the new approach over the next 12 months and if successful it will be replicated across the country.

The Justice Secretary said:

Under the new system we are introducing, offenders will face prosecution if they fail to comply with the conditions set by the police, so that no one is allowed to get away with the soft option.

Detective Superintendent Jon Chadwick said: "This tragic incident is only a few hours old so it is far too early to go into exactly what has happened and why.

"All we can say for certain is that a man has tragically died after being shot and his family are absolutely devastated. Our thoughts are with them and we will be providing them as much support as they need at this very difficult and upsetting time.